Baseball Surrenders Just Five Hits, but Absorbs 5-1 Setback at West Virginia

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – On any given night, a pitching staff only allowing five hits would typically signal a pretty good chance for a victory, but unfortunately for the Morehead State baseball team it also issued seven walks, committed three errors, and only generated four hits in leading to a 5-1 setback at West Virginia Wednesday night.
 
The Eagles fell for just the second time in their last 19 games, slipping to 22-7. The Mountaineers, members of the Big 12 Conference, moved to 17-10.
 
West Virginia scored its first two runs in the opening inning without the benefit of a hit and added two more for a 4-0 advantage in the third via an error and a fielder's choice ground out.
 
"In baseball you don't get do-overs, but I would really like to play those first three innings again because after that I thought our pitchers settled in and did a pretty nice job. All our relievers threw the ball well and gave us a chance," said head coach Mike McGuire. "We basically gave them two runs in the first inning and same thing in the third. The next thing we knew we were down 4-0 against a very good team, and you just can't do that."
 
Offensively, the Eagles had four hits but were plunked by five pitches by the WVU staff. However, the Eagles left nine runners on base, including bases loaded once and runners on second and third on another occasion.
 
"I thought we had some good at-bats, and we hit the ball hard, but it was a day where offense was hard to come by," McGuire added. "It is a pretty big park, and the wind was blowing in. I thought we hit a few that might have been home runs or over the outfielders' heads, but it just wasn't in the cards for a comeback tonight."
 
Senior first baseman Will Schneider generated two of the hits, while junior second baseman Braxton Morris had a double. Sophomore rightfielder Niko Hulsizer singled to extend his reached-base streak to a team-best 13 contests.
 
Senior lefty Cable Wright and junior righty Seth Boyle each tossed two innings, allowing just one run between them, and freshman Alex Garbrick was unscathed in the eighth inning. Reliever JC Hatcher pitched three frames with four strikeouts. Starter Luke Humphreys (2-2) walked the first two hitters, who both ended up scoring, and was lifted quickly.
 
Morehead State, at 8-1 and in second place, jumps back into Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend at UT Martin. The three-game set opens Friday at 7 p.m. ET.